A classic adventure novel is returning as a vibrant original musical, when 24 Carrot Productions presents ‘Around The World In 80 Days’ in Melbourne.
It’s a journey into 1872, into a feminist, post-colonialist take on Jules Verne’s adventure novel of the same name. 24 Carrot Productions is a mainstay of Melbourne’s independent theatre scene (‘The Regina Monologues’, ‘Sense And Sensibility: The Musical’). . . And now, they’re traversing the British Empire during the Victorian era – with a modern twist.
The original story follows the Englishman Fogg as he travels through several parts of the British Empire at its peak, and his experiences as a white man of the dominant colonial culture. This reimagining however centres on the experiences of women of colour, as it introduces women from around the world: Mei in Hong Kong, Ayusha in India, Farida in Egypt, and Patience in America.
“I loved this story as a kid, loved the travel and the adventure and the romance,” Lyricist and Director Sharmini Kumar says. “I was in a musical version in high school. It wasn’t until I was older that I started to ask some questions about it, about how well it showed perspectives other than that of the English male protagonist. So I wrote this to try and fill in some of the gaps.”
‘Around The World In 80 Days’ plays Richmond Theatrette (Melbourne) 28 August-2 September.
